Friends

As hard as we work to parent these intense children, being friends with them can be moreso. Intense children are difficult to understand. They are deep thinkers and cannot accept things at face value. Games are intense and varied. A game of tag involves a complicated story that evolves over the course of play. Climbing on play structures is traversing mountains. Nothing is as it seems.

School kids struggle to find things in common with their classmates. Homeschooled kids have a smaller pool sometimes, but also struggle to find common ground. Homeschooling parents take on the task of helping their kids find friends. We use church, sports, scouts, and community events to do so. Some have co-op or homeschool classes too. This doesn't always result in the types of friends our kids need, though.

I have used internet channels to try to find friends for my kids. I succeeded quickly for Rory, but Will has been different. We have had several meetings, but nothing has panned out. Tomorrow, though, we have another. I stumbled upon a boy a couple of years older than Will who shares two of Will's loves--Transformers and LEGOS. They also both enjoy nature and outside. They both have autism. If this other boy loves to read and knows Pokemon and dinosaurs, they couldn't have more in common.

Even with all the similarities, though they might not get along. Common likes aren't the only catalyst to good friendships. The boys will have to be able to talk to each other. They will need to be able to agree on things to discuss and play. Interpersonal relationships are hard anyway, but when we involve neurological differences, they are even more dicey.

Will knows that he will meet a new person tomorrow. That carries it's own bag of tricks with it. He is always nervous and unsure. He doesn't know what to expect. He is often reserved when meeting new people. And this new person carries extra weight. He wants friends other than his cousins. He is a sweet, loving boy who knows a lot about life, but he is not easy for other kids because of his neurological differences. I am hopeful he hits it off with this boy tomorrow.